This disclosure relates to a seat provided with an armrest, and particularly to an armrest included in a juvenile seat for use in a vehicle. More particularly, this disclosure relates to an armrest that is movable relative to a seat back in a juvenile seat.
Juvenile seats are used to seat and restrain children seated in vehicles. Many juvenile seats include seat bottoms and backs and armrests. Such seats are adapted to use vehicle safety belts or other harnesses to restrain children seated on these seats.
According to this disclosure, a seat assembly includes a seat and an armrest lock mounted on the seat for movement between an armrest-locking position and an armrest-releasing position. The assembly further includes an armrest that rotates on the armrest lock about a pivot axis from a raised storage position to a lowered armrest position.
In illustrative embodiments, the armrest lock is configured to lock the armrest to the seat upon rotation of the armrest to either the raised storage position or the lowered armrest position and movement of the armrest lock along the pivot axis to the armrest-locking position. Once the armrest lock is moved along the pivot axis to the armrest-releasing position, the armrest is free to rotate about the pivot axis relative to the seat to either the raised storage position in a notch formed in a side wall of the seat back or the lowered armrest position in a horizontal orientation above and alongside a seat bottom included in the seat.
A drive spring is coupled to the armrest lock and biased normally to urge the armrest lock to assume the armrest-locking position. A lock actuator is mounted on a lock housing containing the armrest lock and movable to urge the armrest lock against the drive spring to assume the armrest-releasing position so that the armrest can rotate about the pivot axis on the armrest lock between the raised storage position and the lowered armrest position.
A return spring is coupled at one end to the armrest and at an opposite end to the lock housing. The return spring is biased normally to urge the armrest to assume the lowered armrest position.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.